Qld need to find room for Barba: Hagan

Steve Jancetic

Queensland assistant coach Michael Hagan believes the Maroons have to find a spot for Canterbury sensation Ben Barba - even if it means tinkering with the formula which has netted seven straight State of Origin series wins.

Barba was an unstoppable force during a breakout 2012 NRL campaign, the Bulldogs fullback taking out the player of the year honours as he propelled the blue and whites to the grand final.

It wasn't however enough to earn him a first maroon jumper - Queensland blessed for options at fullback with Billy Slater holding a mortgage on the No.1 jumper.

Even when Slater was unavailable for the series decider in Brisbane, the Maroons had the luxury of shifting Greg Inglis from centre to fullback, while the likes of Matt Bowen and Darius Boyd are also in the queue.

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But Hagan - an assistant to Mal Meninga - said the Maroons could not afford to ignore Barba's claims any longer.

"I just think he's an exciting player that demands being in there somewhere just by virtue of how he played this year," Hagan told AAP on Tuesday.

"I love watching him play."

Barring an injury crisis, the most likely selection scenario would see Barba as an impact player off the bench.

But this would mean a shift in policy for Meninga, who last year employed four forwards as his reserves.

Prior to that Cooper Cronk was Meninga's utility player off the bench, but even he was used as a dummy-half or running forward before being moved into the starting side to replace Darren Lockyer.

Hagan said the potential was there for Barba to have a significant impact for the Maroons.

"In Origin, you can only imagine how dangerous he'd become if you can get him on there for 15-20 minutes," Hagan said.

"I don't know how we're going to get him in there but he'd be in Mal's plans for sure."